With Senator Sarah Hanson-Young’s marriage amendment bill being debated in the Senate last night, Queensland Senator George Brandis gave a speech defending the institution of marriage.

Senator Brandis spoke against amending the Marriage Act to redefine marriage, stressing the Coalition’s commitment going into the 2010 election to leave the Marriage Act unchanged.

Senator Brandis also spoke about the importance of respecting the rights of people who hold to a traditional understanding of marriage, criticising Senator Hanson-Young for “seeking to silence alternative views”. Calling for Senator Hanson-Young and others who are pushing for change to pay more respect to those who disagree, Senator Brandis said:

[traditional marriage] views reflect the entire understanding and the entire course of human history of what a marriage is.

See page 75 of Thursday’s Hansard to read Senator Brandis’ full speech.